THE LATEST LINE: COLUMBIA CONQUEST WAS A REAL EARFUL

I've got to admit, when the Chaffee Medicap Pharmacy Senior American Legion baseball team lost its opening game in the state tournament Thursday night, I didn't give the squad much of a chance of coming back to win the championship.

That's just another of my many prognostications that have been way off base over the years. And am I ever glad I was wrong.

You've sure got to hand it to Chaffee as its sensational summer of baseball will continue, thanks to Saturday's unbelievable 7-6, 10-inning victory over Kirksville in the state title contest in Columbia, Mo.

Not many teams drop the first game of a double-elimination tournament and then climb all the way out of the loser's bracket. But that's exactly what Chaffee did as it won four straight games.

I wasn't able to cover the state tourney in person, but co-workers Jeff Breer and Bob Miller and I hung by our radios in the office Saturday and hung on every pitch in the late going as Kevin Phillips -- who I thought at one point wasn't going to survive all the drama -- called the action on KAPE-1550.

When Kirksville, after falling behind 7-6 in the top of the 10th, loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the inning, my immediate reaction was that Chaffee was about to be dealt an excruciatingly painful loss after coming so close to the title.

But then I remembered who was on the mound -- the unflappable Matt Stroup. I thought, if any pitcher in the area -- no, make that the state -- can get out of this mess, he can. And that's exactly what happened.

And now Chaffee will be getting ready for the eight-team regional tournament that starts Thursday in Enid, Okla.

The regional is sure to be loaded with top talent and Chaffee probably won't be favored to prevail. But after what the squad did at state, I sure wouldn't rule out another championship.

Congratulations to all the players and coaches for what has so far been an unbelievable summer of accomplishments.

And here's hoping you can keep it going in the Sooner state.

* Despite having a tremendous baseball career at Southeast Missouri State University, Darin Kinsolving was overlooked when it came to major league organizations.

But Kinsolving has got to at least be drawing a little bit of attention these days because he's tearing up the Independent Frontier League.

Kinsolving, who last played for SEMO in 2000, is batting .329 with 10 home runs and 59 runs batted in for the Chillicothe (Ohio) Paints. He is second in the league in RBIs.

* Some improvements are being made at Capaha Field, the most notable being the installation of a new infield in order to eliminate what had been an uneven quality to the playing surface.

All the work, made possible by the Capaha Field Improvement Committee, should be finished within a few weeks.

* The 10th annual Slamfest --Cape Girardeau's highly popular outdoor basketball tournament --will be held Saturday and Sunday at Indian Park.

Tournament director Scott Porter said there are still openings for a couple of teams. Anybody interested in entering a team should call 651-6615.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian